Environmental education through sustainable school food waste management in the Vhembe District, Limpopo

Abstract

This qualitative case study focuses on identifying factors that could either enable or constrain sustainable food waste management as a form of environmental education (EE) in the participating schools. The study was motivated by the observation that the National School Nutrition Program (NSNP) that was introduced by the Department of Basic Education to support learners from disadvantaged backgrounds with nutritious food was causing pollution in some schools due to inadequate discarding of food leftovers. The purpose of the study was to develop recommendations towards a sustainable means of managing this food waste in the schools. As an Agricultural Science educator, I wanted to explore the possibilities of enhancing environmental education in schools through sustainable food waste management. While research has been conducted about food waste management and how this is an environmental concern, little has been written about it as it relates to environmental education and sustainability in schools. Hence, this study sought to contribute knowledge to this gap. To achieve this aim, this study followed a descriptive case study design, framed by the value-belief-norm (VBN) theory. Three schools in Vhembe district, Limpopo, were conveniently selected, and the NSNP food coordinator of each selected school, one food handler, two learners, two educators and two SGB members from each sampled school were purposively sampled to get rich information from them about sustainable school food waste management. Data were collected through semi-structured, face-to-face interviews and observations. The findings indicate the various ways in which food waste could be managed in these schools, such as recycling through composting, reusing by community farmers, and reducing the amount of possible food waste. The study also found environmental education to be a key element in which the schools could invest to sustainably and effectively manage food waste.